ROWING AT THE GAMEs OF THE 2ND OLYMPIAD, 1900

BY TONY BijKERK

he youngest Olympic competitor, medalist and gold weight of Dr. Brockmann, the coxswain from the series, medalist ever? This quotation comes from page 202 Tony B.J. When we heard that we, as the fastest losers, were Tof the famous “Golden Book of the ” chosen to row in the final race, our coach Dr. Meurer decid- by Erich Kamper and Bill Mallon. It was written about the ed, in consultance with the present members of the board young French boy who coxed the Dutch pair Francois from Minerva, that we also should search for such a boy. Antoine Brandt and Roelof Klein during the final race of the Between the already as too heavy discarded ‘gamins’ we pairs with coxswain at the Olympic rowing competition in soon found one, who formerly had coxed teams from the Paris 1900. In the commentary, the authors state that this SOCIéTé DE LA BASSE-SEINE. His weight was 33 kilo- boy appeared to be between seven and 10 years of age at the grams, but when he took place in the ‘A.P.Petrie’ the rudder time of the race. They concluded this from a photograph still came high above the water surface and therefor we had found in a Dutch memorial book, showing the two giant to use an extra lead-weight of 5 kilograms, that, attached to Dutch rowers and their “gamin”. the rudder, brought at least its fin under the water surface. As the originator of this discovery almost 37 years ago, I Thus we won 22 kilograms in weight! think the estimation of this boy’s age is not correct. In my “Before the start we had received information that the opinion the boy’s age has been rated much too low and that French teams, against whom we had to compete and who is maybe due to the bad quality of the photograph involved. apparently were a bit scared about our performance, had Because I still feel responsible for the story as a whole, I decided that the R.C. Castillon would at the beginning give thought that it would be necessary to add a post script to everything to try to come in front of us, then cut across our story. My commentary can only be corroborated by one of front and give us ‘foul’ water, while in the mean time the the principals himself! Let me, therefore, present the actual S.N. DE LA MARNE would keep up with us and then after story about what happened in Paris 1900, which was writ- half the distance would row past us. Un homme averti en vaut ten by Francois Antoine Brandt himself, and translated by deux! [Forewarned is forearmed! Tony.] me in his own words. He wrote it for a memorial book of his “So we also decided to start with a sprint. Our plan suc- rowing club LAGA, which in 1926 celebrated its 50th ceeded beautiful and before we had rowed 100 meters we anniversary. already were 3/4 length in front. This became 6/4 length and then Klein changed into a calmer pace, with our longest y whole life long I will not forget how Klein and I, strokes. For me it has always been an enigma, why he did on the 26th of August 1900 won the world cham- not change the pace upwards during the last 200 meters, Mpionship in the old two (with cox), on the Seine- because the MARNE was sprinting hard and gaining visi- river, between Courbevoie and Asnières. The day before, bly on us; we were still fresh and it could have been done with calm weather and a nice temperature, we were beaten easily, but I could not stir him into this action, and even in our Deichmann-boat, the ‘A.P.Petrie’ by the SOCIéTé with the lower pace of the second half of the distance, we NAUTIQUE DE LA MARNE by several lengths. still passed the finish line as first, only 1/5th of a second ‘We had rowed the best we could, we were stronger than before the MARNE.” our opponents, we both had many years of rowing-experi- (The story continues with the tale how they experienced their ence, we were never beaten in Holland. -Therefore we stay in Paris and how they returned to the with their should have the possibility to win, if only the circumstances price: “a heavy bronze statue of a lady,” with which they passed were equal! But these were not equal; all those French teams the Belgian/Dutch border!) rowed with children in the coxes-chair, who were replaced The conclusion of my findings! by lighter ones, as soon as they had reached the weight of I want to state that in my humble opinion this young boy 25 kilograms! And we had to pull 60 kilograms with us [the might still be one of the youngest gold-medal winners in

Page 26 — Journal of Olympic History the Olympic Games ever, but he is certainly not younger faster time than heat winner Ludwigshafen (also from than 12 to 14 years old, as can be deducted from the ). Ludwigshafen had a very easy heat against the enclosed photograph. It would be fantastic if his name and team from Barcelona and therefor did not have to row all his personal data could still be found. But even the son of out to beat the Spanish team. Brandt, whom I personally contacted several times between “Minerva, Germania and Ludwigshafen [the three heat 1965 and 1984 (he died in 1985), could not tell me anything winners, Tony.] protested; they came to the starting line, but about this young “gamin”, who played such an important did not actually start the race. The three other teams, which role in the rowing career from his late father. It is a pity that included Roubaix [from and the fastest loser from even in the latest studies like the one from Karl Lennartz the heats, as mentioned in the regulations, Tony.] rowed and Walter Teutenberg, nothing can be found about the their race, which Roubaix won, Lyon being second and ages from the coxes from the French rowing teams in Paris Favorite-Hammonia coming in as third. 1900. I am quite certain that when the age from these boys “Dr. Meurer then went to the jury tent, together with Mr. could be found, they must have been even younger than the Frikkers (a Dutch member of the international jury) to lodge one in the Dutch boat; who had already been discarded a protest against this race. The result of the protest was that because of his weight! the jury decided to have the three original heat winners row against each other the next (mon)day morning at 10 a.m. to n another article which I found 36 years ago in one of my decide which team would be the strongest one. country’s earliest sports magazines, August 1900 and “The funny side of this, in fact most regrettable, incident Iwritten by the same Dr. Meurer mentioned by Brandt, is that the three original prices had already been handed the story is corroborated. But not in such detail as the over to the three mentioned losing teams and that for the Brandt story. race to be rowed tomorrow three new prices will be sup- Dr. Meurer was the trainer-coach of the Dutch rowing plied. The moral victory of this great ‘battle’ will be award- teams entered in the 1900 world-championships (Olympic ed to the three victorious teams of tomorrow! It is com- Games), under the patronage of the club Minerva pletely clear for me that the Netherlands should not any Amsterdam. This rowing club only existed to offer racing longer compete in rowing races in France; the conception of facilities abroad for Dutch student-rowers, who normally sport and the organization of races are more than 25 years competed for their own student- clubs, like LAGA (from outdated here!” Delft), Nereus (from Amsterdam), Njord (from Leiden). A The second final on that Monday morning was won by Dutch Leander Boat Club! Germania in 5 min. 59 sec., with Minerva second 6 min. 3 Klein and Brandt normally rowed for LAGA and the sec. and Ludwigshafen third in 6 min. 5 seconds. The team “four with coxswain” originally came from Nereus, while from Roubaix declined to participate in this second final of the eighth was a mixture of rowers from all three aforemen- the strongest teams! Dr. Meurer ended his comments: tioned clubs. “It is a pity that in such important races, such acts can take Dr Meurer himself played a key role in another strange place: the program showed the Committee exactly how to episode at these 1900 Olympic rowing races. It concerned act and that from the losing teams only Roubaix should the dispute of the two different finals of the fours with have been admitted to the final!” coxswain, which were both rowed in Paris. Our former I hope this information sheds new light on the second ISOH doyen, the late Erich Kamper, mentions this episode Olympic Games. Since it concerned some of our earliest in his 1990 book “Olympische Heroen.” Unfortunately Olympians, and was written in a Dutch contemporary sport Kamper did not give the complete history about what actu- magazines, I thought that it should belong to all of us! ally happened. Since the facts were written down by Dr. Meurer himself on the evening of, the first final, immediate Another peculiar note concerns silver medals presented ly after they really happened, I can now tell the story as it to the Dutch rowers from Minerva Amsterdam (or better appeared in the magazine Nederlandsche Sport from from Nereus Amsterdam, the Student Rowing Club from Saturday, September 1st, 1900. which these four rowers and their coxswain Dr. Brockmann ‘The first number to be rowed that day [August 26th, were members). One of these rare medals has been exposed 1900, Tony.] at 2 p.m., was the ‘fours with coxswain’. In this year in the Olympic exhibition from the Netherlands accordance with the official program it had been decided Sport Museum. The medal concerned was won by the late that only the winners from each heat, plus the fastest loser, Johannes Hester Lambertus Terwogt. After his study he would start in this final. You can understand our surprise became a children’s doctor in Amsterdam and died in 1977 when we received information that the jury had decided to at the ripe age of 98 years old. According to his family, he add the teams Lyon (France) and Favorite-Hammonia (from never knew that he had participated in the Olympic Games! Hamburg, Germany) to the final, because they had rowed a **********

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